Three easy recipes: sweet pickles, dill pickle chips and jalapeno slices to make in small batches with no canning!

Quick Refrigerator Jalapeno Slices

Easy Hamburger Dill Chips

Refrigerator Sweet Bread and Butter Pickles

I have been meaning to get these recipes up for awhile. I am notoriously behind on posting my recipes here, even though you see a lot of blog posts. Right now I am behind by 35. A couple weeks ago it was 20 and I thought I might catch up but instead it has mushroomed on me.

I do spend a lot of time cooking- as it comes very natural to me. Some people wonder about that but, I mean, we have to eat anyway, right? But I have to admit one can get around having to make your own pickles at home. Dinner can be on the table without it. Still, this is really very easy to do, and I like being able to buy produce from farmers markets if I can’t grow it in my own garden, and put it up for my family. In recent years, it is just Bill and I so I really don’t need to be canning pickles by the case. Besides the fact that I adore the crisp texture of refrigerator pickles, so I make it up when I need it and start a new batch just long enough ahead that I don’t run out.

One of the things you will notice about these three recipes is that you don’t really need to have a specified amount of cucumbers or peppers to make them. When I shop for produce, I will pick what I like and not really want to feel I have to add more if I don’t like the way they look. So, you can buy a “bag” or cucumbers or peppers and these recipes will work for you no matter what you end up with.

I do use Kirby cucumbers, which if you are not familiar with the name, are the smaller cucumbers with the little nubs all over them. You can use other cukes or even zucchini in these recipes as well. But whatever cukes you do choose, choose ones that are firm and not wrinkly, especially at either end. That’s where they go soft first. With zukes and cukes both you will want them to be small, so there isn’t much in the way of seeds. I generally flex them a little bit to see how limp they are- if they aren’t really stiff, I put them back. I hate to be a stickler about it but I like my produce fresh.

Jalapenos I generally like to be on the smaller side, so there is less pith and seed inside. Of course with less membrane/pith, there may be less heat as well, but you can always choose ones that are hotter to begin with. Some of the ones at the local grocer aren’t much hotter than bell peppers. Others are hotter than a campfire. I like to use the more ripened/blushing reddish or orange peppers if I can. That means they will have a sweeter flavor. The red ones in the market called Fresnos are sweet, but they are also a little less potent than regular jalapeno peppers. But those will still be fine.

I do hope you enjoy the recipes- I make them all a regular part of my “Palatable Pantry” and I do take pride in making these from scratch. You can take pride in your pickles too, and you don’t have to tell anyone how easy this is to do, unless you want to.

Once you get them home, you will want to make up your pickles as soon as possible, and also make sure they are clean and have the little stems removed before slicing. But that’s very easy anyway.

Quick Refrigerator Jalapeno Slices

Ingredients:

Sliced fresh jalapenos

Brine Mixture:

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 tablespoons pickling salt

1/2 tbsp. garlic

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

Method:

Place jalapeno slices in a heatproof container.

Bring brine to a boil and pour over jalapenos, making up more brine if needed to cover.

Allow mixture to cool, then cover and refrigerate 1-2 weeks, stirring daily, until as pickled as you like.

Easy Hamburger Dill Chips

Ingredients:

Kirby cucumbers, ends trimmed and sliced

Brine mixture:

1 1/2 cups white vinegar

1 1/2 cups water

2 tbsp. fresh dill weed

2 teaspoons garlic

1/2 teaspoon dill seed

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

pinch sugar

Method:

Place sliced cucumbers in a heatproof container.

Bring brine to a boil and pour over cucumber slices, making more brine if needed to cover cucumbers.

Allow mixture to cool, then refrigerate, covered, stirring daily, for 1-2 weeks or until as pickled as you like.

Refrigerator Sweet Bread and Butter Pickles

Ingredients:

Kirby cucumbers, ends trimmed and sliced

Brine mixture:

1 cup filtered water

1 cup white vinegar

1/3-1/2 cup Splenda granular

1 tbsp. pickling salt

1/4 tsp. garlic

1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon mustard seed

1/8 teaspoon celery seed

1/8 teaspoon turmeric

pinch allspice

pinch cinnamon

Method:

Place sliced cucumbers in a heat resistant container.

Bring other ingredients to a boiil and pour over sliced cukes, making more brine mixture if needed.

Allow brined cucumber slices to cool in container, then cover and refrigerate, stirring daily, for about one week or until pickled as you like.

I don’t water bath can these so I can keep them very crisp. I do stir them daily as I check them to see when I can eat them, as well as to keep any spice from settling. As for opening the jars, this is NOT a recipe for shelf-stable pickles. It is not safe to store these jars of pickles in your dry pantry after making them. But they will pickle under refrigeration and do not go bad during the pickling time.
Of course, there are many good recipes for canning shelf-stable pickles.
This is just a different type of recipe. Both for any size batch and for folks who don’t have any canning equipment or don’t care to can that day.

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